La mer: Just waves and a bit of silence

Should you watch La mer? If you are looking for a plot, absolutely not. If you want to stare at the ocean for a while and feel like you're losing track of the clock, maybe.

It is definitely not for anyone who gets restless during a slow scene. You will probably hate this if you need a character to talk or a goal to be achieved. It’s just water. Mostly.

There is something weirdly stubborn about the way the camera just sits there. It does not try to be pretty in that polished, professional way. It just looks at the tide coming in. 🌊

Ovady Julber is the name attached to this, and it feels very much like a personal note left in a bottle. It is far removed from the zippy energy of something like Alice the Collegiate. You aren't going to find any jokes here.

The rhythm is... well, it is just the rhythm of the waves. Sometimes the camera lingers on a ripple for ten seconds longer than feels comfortable. It forces you to actually see the foam instead of just glancing at it. I found myself counting the rocks just because there was nothing else to do.

It reminded me a bit of the raw, documentarian spirit in Kino-pravda no. 7, though stripped of the political edge. It’s just pure, unfiltered observation. It is quite a contrast to the frantic pace of Seeing Stars, which feels like a different universe entirely.

There is no music to guide your feelings. That makes it feel even more like you are just standing on a beach with the filmmaker. It is lonely, but not in a sad way.

I kept waiting for a cut that didn't happen. The stillness is almost aggressive. It is the kind of thing you watch when you are too tired to follow a complex story but too awake to fall asleep.

It feels very imperfect. Like a rough sketch of a beach trip. Sometimes the light shifts in a way that looks like a technical error, but I think that’s just how it was.

If you watch this, don't try to analyze the meaning. There isn't a secret code. It is just salt water and sand. Sometimes that is enough. 🐚